Great venues for live, local rock bands in London

June 30, 2007 6:27 AM

I'm going to London for the first time in years for the week of July 8-15. What are some good venues for seeing good, local bands?

My musical tastes tend to be all over the map, but I have a certain affinity for guitar driven, noisy rock bands (MBV, Swervedriver, Ride, etc.). I know that style might be a bit outmoded these days, but doesn't hurt to ask.

posted by psmealey to Travel & Transportation around London, England (9 answers total)

Best answer: The only one I'm particularly familiar with (not being a big gigger) is The Dublin Castle in Camden Town. They play the sort of music you're talking about. Learn more about the venue here and see the schedule. The DC has a little bit of a reputation of hosting rock bands before they hit it big, so you never know!
posted by wackybrit at 7:10 AM on June 30, 2007

Best answer: The Borderline is a nice small venue booked by Mean Fiddler, who also do The Garage and the Astoria.

The Betsey Trotwood is another nice tiny space for bands.

The electroacoustic club is a cool place for acoustic stuff.
posted by ludwig_van at 7:33 AM on June 30, 2007

Check out Seetickets for great gig listings.
posted by Lleyam at 7:35 AM on June 30, 2007

...But do not then buy tickets from Seetickets, because their handling charges and p&p are absurdly extortionate.

Also - try going to Spitz while you still can. And the Halfmoon in Putney is pretty legendary.

Pretty much all the places mentioned so far tend to have pretty eclectic lineups - sometimes they'll have a load of similar bands on in a night, but other times you'll go from jazz-folk to electro to metal in the course of one evening. So bear that in mind if there's any time of music you particularly dislike.
posted by flashboy at 8:49 AM on June 30, 2007

Any time of music? Type would be what I meant to, er, type. I think.
posted by flashboy at 9:00 AM on June 30, 2007

Best answer: Try the Luminaire; I've seen some great indie guitar bands there. And the How Does It Feel To Be Loved gig guide may prove useful (athough HDIF has a great love of indie milquetoast Belle and Sebastian type bands too, so peruse carefully.

And though I've not been, myself, I believe the Buffalo Bar in Islington runs a shoegazer club every Wednesday called Goonite.
posted by hot soup girl at 9:07 AM on June 30, 2007

Here's a Time Out search for July 7-13 (as close as I could come to your dates).
posted by lukemeister at 9:34 AM on June 30, 2007

Best answer: ^
Good suggestion, but that search is for club/DJ nights, not live music.

Try this one for live music
posted by Infinite Jest at 4:55 PM on June 30, 2007

Seconding Luminare, seen some great stuff there.
posted by 6am at 3:53 AM on July 1, 2007